


a neverending sentence (in my head)

by orphan_account



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-02-08 06:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12858501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Betty was born with the ability to read minds. Jughead just wants to know why Betty cut him out of her life.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> alright yeet we out here new fic!
> 
> i know a lot of u want a read all about it part 2 but this idea has been stuck in my head for SO long and ive never done a chaptered fic on here before !!
> 
> not sure exactly how many chapters yet but itll be pretty short so,,,,, hope u like
> 
> title from space between by sia

The first day of the school year is always the worst. The halls are crowded and full, the classes are at full capacity, it's loud. The thought of making her way through the school at the peak of attendance makes Betty's heart thrum and her palms sweat.

It's why she decides to leave early, way ahead of the crowds, so she can get her schedule and avoid human contact. People are always tired in the mornings, and it's when people are half asleep that their voices are the most intense.

The halls are empty when Betty arrives, aside from the teachers that walk between rooms and catch up outside their classrooms. She folds her pink-sleeved arms around herself like an extra protective force and makes her way to the gym, where the schedules for the new year are being handed out.

Her footsteps, thudding against the linoleum floors, echo the halls.

Just as she's about the open the door to the gymnasium, it swings open. Miss Grundy, the school's music teacher, lets out a shocked gasp at the sight of Betty and drops the papers she was holding.

"Oh my god, sorry!" Betty says, bending down to pick up the papers.

Miss Grundy kneels at the same time and reaches forward to collect the pieces of paper. Her arm brushes Betty's hand, and the gentle throb of electricity thrums beneath Betty's skin as Miss Grundy's voice fills her head.

_School doesn't start for another 45 minutes. What kind of suck up student shows up that early?_

As if she's been stun, Betty recoils immediately. "I'm... sorry."

Miss Grundy stares at her through the lenses of her glasses, her eyebrows furrowed, but all Betty can do is stand up and push the door open, stepping around Miss Grundy and leaving her to pick her papers up herself.

Betty's cheeks burn in embarrassment. Is that what all the teachers think of her?

The encounter doesn't leave her mind as she takes a seat at one of the wooden benches in the gymnasium. _Suck up_. All she wanted to avoid was some accidental mind reading, but that's what she ended up getting.

There are no teachers here yet to hand out the schedules, so all Betty can do is wait and mull over the interaction with Miss Grundy in her head over and over until she goes insane.

Betty has never been in one of Miss Grundy's classes in her entire life, how could she think anything negative of Betty when she doesn't even know her. Betty knows she seeks constant approval from all her superiors and peers, but she also knows how toxic it is to look into someone's mind to find that approval. It isn't her business, she shouldn't have the right.

But she does. She can read people's thoughts. It's less of a gift, more of a constant burden. It's one thing to wonder what people think of you, it's an entire different thing to actually know.

More times than she can count, she's heard things she never wanted to. When she was younger, it was accidentally listening in on her father's dirty thoughts about her mother. It was seeing her childhood best friend and temporary crush's daydreams about other girls. When she was a bit older, it was hearing Cheryl Blossom's negative opinions about her loud and clear like they were being broadcasted through megaphone between her ears. It was feeling her parents disappointment as she withdrew from yet another event, feigning sickness to skip the town jubilee.

A creak breaks Betty out of her dazed state of mind as a figure sets himself down, across the gymnasium from Betty on a parallel bench. He stares at her for a moment before looking away, and with a pang in her heart she realises it is Jughead Jones.

Just like everyone else in her life, Jughead had to be cut out.

It's just... the thought of being close to anyone felt like an invasion of privacy when she had the power to read their thoughts whenever she chose. Fuck, she could probably read Jughead's thoughts right now, if she strained herself.

She had always cared about her friends, more than herself, which was why she had to let them go. Jughead, and her next door neighbour Archie Andrews, were better without her, even if it seemed like they hardly talked anymore. Maybe all three were destined to go their own ways.

Jughead looks up and makes eye contact with Betty, and for the first time in a while she actually _wants_ to read someone's mind; Jughead's mind. She stops herself, though, and looks away incase she accidentally takes a glimpse from across the room.

It's saddening how someone who you used to be close with can become a complete stranger over the course of a year.

Betty wonders how Jughead is doing, if his home life is as much of a mess as she remembers it being or if his life has improved without her in it. As much as the small, selfish part of her hopes it hasn't, she largely hopes it has.

She can get her schedule later, after the crowd. Late instead of early. It's an option, she realises as she stands and walks out the door. She can feel Jughead's eyes on her back, watching her leave.

Just, she can't be in a room alone with Jughead. He's the kind of guy to confront her, and God had he tried in the past. Once, he grabbed her arm after class and the thought that rushed over her made tears spring in her eyes.

As much as Betty wants both Archie and Jughead to not suspect anything, she still wants to tell them that there's a reason she cut them off. Just so they don't think she did it for nothing. Maybe crying when Jughead had touched her and his voice, his thought; _I need to find out the truth_ ran through her mind had clued him off.

The halls have acquired a few stragglers; the early birds. She sees students whose parents teach, and students who live near the school. Betty sticks close to the lockers, hoping to avoid human contact when a girl's arm brushes against her own.

_I already want to go home._

Betty startles, the thought intruding her mind, as she continues on her way. The bathroom door becomes visible in the near distance and Betty quickly barges in and places her hands against the sink.

Her reflection is frazzled despite the effort she put into everything this morning. Her heart beats in her throat as she closes her eyes, not wanting to look at herself any longer. Something about this day feels different than usual, the whole school year already feels cursed.

Last year was good. After cutting off all her friends and quitting every club she was in, Betty felt lonely but safe. After all this time, the isolation seems to finally be creeping up on her, ready to tap her on the shoulder and catch her attention.

She already knows, though. She knows she's not content with how everything has played out, that seeing Jughead and hearing Miss Grundy's thoughts has only deepened her emotions. But, it's either she's lonely or she knows everything everyone is thinking every time they're near her. Somehow, Betty thinks they wouldn't like that too much.

She finally opens her eyes, her green eyes, and stares into herself.

"I can do it." She whispers, entirely Betty-esque and she knows it. She can get through this year with minimal mind readings. She did it last year, miraculously, and she can do it again.

The bathroom door opens and Betty witnesses Cheryl Blossom walk into one of the stalls behind her. Deciding to make a break for it, Betty leaves the bathroom into the suddenly crowded hallway.

Someone's hand brushes against her arm; _Do we get our schedules from the gym or the cafeteria?_

Someone's leg knocks against her calf; _I hope the new girl's hot._

Someone's shoulder bumps her own; _I want to go home and watch the new episode of Game of Thrones already._

Someone's hand rests on her shoulder; _I'm worried about Betty._

Betty twists her head around to see whose thought entered her mind, and whose hand is cupping her shoulder. Face to face in the crowded hall, Jughead Jones furrows his eyebrows at her.

"Are you good?" Jughead asks, but Betty can only blink. She'd be lying if she said yes, her hand trembles.

"Yeah." She smiles, but she thinks her vision is blurring a bit; tears clouding her eyes. "I'm great."

"Betty..." His hand is still on her shoulder and she can hear more than just his spoken words.

_Is she crying?_

"Really." She assures him, taking a step back so he can't touch her anymore. Her breathing feels uneven, and she _knew_ it. Jughead is the type to confront, but she thought he was done. He hasn't properly spoken to her in more than six months, probably realising she wasn't worth it. Seeing her in the gym must've lit his curiosity again. "I have to get to class."

She turns around, and when she looks down to the floor, a tear falls from one of her eyes and hits the floor.

-

_A tear slips from her eye and hits her mint green dress._

_Betty is fourteen years old, sitting in Archie's backyard with Archie and Jughead. It's December 24th, and Betty is here to hide from her family. Her grandma had been staying over, and Betty had heard a thought from the old lady she wished she hadn't._

Betty is a disappointment.

_Her grandma's voice is loud in her mind, clear and concise, opinionated. Maybe the mindreading wouldn't be such a big deal if Betty knew how to handle it, but it's been completely fucking up her life because she doesn't._

_"You've been more quiet than usual, Betty." Jughead says._

_She doesn't want to look up, because she knows her eyes will be glisteningly wet, so she has to keep looking down lest they see. "Just thinking."_

_She wishes she could stop thinking. And she wishes she could stop thinking other people's thoughts. And sometimes she wishes everything would stop._

_"Do you know what you're getting for Christmas?" Archie asks._

A coral coloured iPhone5c, _she thinks, she knows, because she heard her mother thinking about it. There's no room for surprise in the holiday season when you can read everyone's minds._

_"No." She lies._

_"Hold on, I'll be back." Archie stands up from where he was sitting and quickly hurries off inside. Betty keeps her eyes downcast, but she can feel Jughead's stare against the side of her head. She's got her hair down, and luckily it means Jughead can't actually see her face; her eyes._

_"Betty, are you..."_

_"I'm good, really good." She says._

_For a moment she wishes someone would read_ her _mind, that someone would know how_ she _feels for once; that someone could help her._

_Jughead moves to sit next to her, their shoulders touch and Betty can feel the thrum between them. She wishes she could just be a normal girl in a normal town for once in her life, the girl who likes the guy and the guy likes the girl back._

I don't know how to act around her.

_Betty flinches harshly, enough for Jughead to notice. He turns to face her with confusion in his eyes, and Betty is actually looking back for once. They're both silent for a second until Jughead opens his mouth._

_The anxiety makes her speak first; "I have to get home."_

_Shs stands up immediately and straightens out her dress. "Tell Archie I had to go."_

_Jughead hesitantly nods as she walks away, out the gate, and she can hear him yell her name once, but she doesn't go back. Apparently, even her friends don't know what to do with her._


	2. Chapter 2

Mornings usually start like this; waking up with a heavy feeling of dread, the want to fall back asleep and never wake up, grabbing an apple for breakfast and leaving the house before Alice Cooper can think  _ she’s so distant lately _ . 

 

Instead, the morning begins with a hand on Betty’s shoulder, sternly shaking her awake. A flow of thoughts enters her mind, half her own, and she flinches away from the feminine hand and voice invading her space.

 

“Mom?” Betty asks groggily.

 

“No, me.” Says the voice, and Betty realises it’s Polly.

 

Betty’s eyes feel swollen shut, and sticky, but she rubs at them with balled up fists until her vision clears. With her index finger, she swipes the inner corners of her eyes to remove the goop she knows is there.

 

“What time is it?” Betty asks, less groggily.

 

Polly smiles, “Definitely time for you to get up. If you leave soon you’ll probably make it to school on time. We can walk together.”

 

Dread fills Betty’s entire being, “Why didn’t you wake me up sooner? You know I like to be early.”

 

“You looked like you needed the extra sleep.” Polly says, a confused half-smile stuck on her face.

 

Betty groans, stepping out of bed and rushing to her drawers. She can’t decide if it’s too hot to wear jeans and a sweater or if she should wear a skirt and button-up instead. 

 

Polly kneels beside her, her shoulder pressing against Betty’s.

 

_ Why is she so frantic? _

 

Betty almost wants to answer, as she pulls a skirt and sweater out from her drawers, opting for a happy medium. It’s not  _ her  _ fault that no one woke her up and now she has to show up to school alongside everyone else, walking through the crowded hall, touching strangers, listening to their thoughts like some grade-A creep.

 

There’s a  _ reason  _ she wakes up early, gets to all her classes early, and leaves late. And no, even though Alice Cooper insists it is, it isn’t about staying away from home. It’s about staying away from  _ everyone _ .

 

“Okay, leave, I’m getting dressed.”

 

“Leaving, leaving.” Polly puts her palms out in surrender and walks backwards out of the room, closing the door as she goes.

 

When Betty turns, she makes eye contact with herself in her full body mirror. Staring blankly at her body for a second, she feels like in that one moment she is completely thoughtless, and exhales.

 

-

 

Riverdale High’s newest student Veronica Lodge seems to be everywhere Betty looks, stuck to the likes of Kevin Keller and pining after Archie Andrews like a mirror image of Betty’s own past self.

 

Betty only knows what she’s heard; Veronica is a rich socialite from the city. She doesn’t know why Veronica has come to Riverdale, she doesn’t really care much at all, and she also doesn’t really know how anyone knows anything about her. Talk is cheap.

 

The point is, she’s everywhere. And she isn’t subtle.

 

“Who’s that?” Betty can hear Veronica whispering to Kevin, whisper being a relative term. She can hear Veronica’s voice loud and clear, being that she is only a seat behind Betty and Betty isn’t deaf.

 

“Betty Cooper,” Kevin Keller  _ whispers  _ back, “Archie’s neighbour. They used to be really close until Betty randomly cut everyone out of her life.”

 

Veronica lets out a small sigh, “Everyone?”

 

Betty can feel herself getting angry, as she curls her fist into a ball on her desk and clenches tight.

 

“Yep. It’s super sad. She even stopped talking the people she wasn’t really that close with.” Kevin repies, “Plus, she’s basically the reason Archie and Jughead aren’t friends anymore, but you didn’t hear it from me.” 

 

Before Betty can stop herself, she turns around in her seat, resting her hands on the back of the chair. “ _ She  _ may have not heard it from you, but  _ I  _ definitely did.”

 

Kevin’s eyes widen at her face, and Veronica, who she hasn’t seen front-on so closely before, looks like a deer in the headlights. Before Betty can stop herself, she’s peaking into Veronica’s mind.

 

She still doesn’t really know how to use her… whatever it may be called. Ability, power, whatever. All she knows is that when someone touches her she can’t control it, she can feel its thrum against her will, but she also  _ can  _ control it when she wants to read someone’s mind from a distance. She doesn’t know how far, she’s never really tested it, and she’s completely unaware of her own limits, but Veronica is less than a foot away and Betty is pretty sure she can handle it.

 

_ Either I can’t whisper or she has really good hearing. So much for reformed mean girl. _

 

Luckily for Veronica, she’s not the one Betty has an issue with.

 

“I was just… telling her what I knew.” Kevin tells her.

 

“It’s not  _ your _ right to tell anyone about  _ my  _ life, especially when you aren’t a part of it.” Betty scolds.

 

“Who is?” Kevin asks.

 

“Betty! Eyes to the front of the class!” the teacher calls, and Betty turns around, arms crossed against her chest.

 

“Sorry, sir.” She says, but her mind has drifted completely away the class.

 

_ Who is? Who is? Who is? _

 

He’s right. Who is a part of her life? Herself, yeah, Polly, maybe her parents. Betty really doesn’t have anyone. She releases her fists and turns her palms to face upward, the crescent moons red and scarred, fresh blood smudged. 

 

-

 

_ Her palms feel rough and scarred beneath her own fingertips. She’s fourteen and she already distantly regrets it, for her future self. She imagines a world where she has a boyfriend who wants to hold her hand, and he’ll have to feel this bumpy mess instead of a smooth palm. Hopefully she won’t do this by then and the scars will fade. They aren’t that deep anyway. _

 

_ There was a girl in middle school who had scratches on her wrist that she always covered with really long gloves. Betty wonders if she’s ever going to do that, but probably not.  _

 

_ Maybe if her life were simpler, she wouldn’t be wondering this at all. _

 

_ One time Archie told her he wished he was born with some sort of disease or condition, like the woman he saw in a magazine with bones so fragile she could break a rib if she sneezed, just so he was unique. Betty thinks he’s crazy for thinking that, because Betty would love to fit in like Archie does. _

 

_ Maybe that’s why she used to like Archie. He’s kind of everything that she’s ever wanted to be.  _

 

_ - _

 

Before Betty can stop herself, she’s gathering her books in her bag and leaving the classroom. Her teacher shouts something after her but she doesn’t turn back. 

 

There’s an empty room, the old newspaper room, where Betty knows she can hide until at least next period. No one ever uses it, and it’s covered in dust. Betty thinks she can deal with an itchy nose if it means she’s away from gossips like Kevin Keller.

 

Even after completely disconnecting herself from everyone around her, people  _ still  _ have her name in their mouths. And the fact they’re blaming her for the fact Archie and Jughead don’t talk anymore is absurd. Very possible and extremely likely? Yes. Their business? No.

 

Betty pushes the door open and practically falls onto the old couch in the corner of the room. It’s weirdly solid, dusty and moth-bitten but it’s a place to lay and that’s all she could ask for.

 

She sighs under her breath, throwing an arm over her eyes and closing them, just to block out the light and relax a bit.

 

-

 

“Betty?” Comes a voice.

 

She groans, “Don’t touch me. Polly?”

 

A chuckle comes from her right, and when Betty opens her eyes she sees Jughead standing there. She instantly feels sick with anxiety. “Not quite.”

 

He’s wearing a black shirt with an unbuttoned flannel over it and a pair of jeans. It’s kind of a look Betty has come to associate with Jughead; gutter-boy chic.

 

“What are you doing here?” She asks, looking anywhere but his eyes.

 

“I saw the light coming out from under the door and wanted to check out who was in here.” He says, placing his satchel on the ground and grinning, “I thought I was the only one who knew this room existed but I guess great minds think alike.”

 

This exchange is all too friendly and familiar. It makes Betty feel like she has phlegm clogging up the back of her throat. She laughs in response. 

 

“But what are  _ you _ doing here?” He continues.

 

“Just… hanging out.” She says, purposely trying to seem guarded.

 

His face looks suddenly stern, all too serious for his usually sarcastic self. “Betty.”

 

She hums.

 

“Are you… okay?” He asks.

 

“Yeah, I’m actually great.” She smiles, even though she knows he can see right through her.

 

“So you’re telling me that you being here right now has nothing to do with what Kevin is talking about in the student lounge?” Jughead asks, and suddenly it seems like he didn’t just stumble upon Betty.

 

“No.” She says, and because she can’t help herself she continues, “What’s he saying? Exactly?”

 

Jughead grabs a chair and sits on it backwards, arms crossed over the back of it. “Just that you snapped at him in class.”

 

“He was talking about me while sitting directly behind me.” Betty informs, “And I didn’t  _ snap _ .”

 

“Are you actually okay?” Jughead asks again.

 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Betty sits up, crossing her arms over her chest. Jughead stares at her silently, and she wants to leave the room.

 

“Maybe because you cut everyone out of your life over a year ago and have seemingly had zero friends in that entire time.” Jughead says, and Betty can feel the dread in her stomach.

 

“People drift.”

 

“Ignoring someone’s texts and calls for months isn’t drifting.”

 

“Well…” Betty says, tightening her arms around herself. She wonders what he’s thinking but doesn’t dare see for herself.

 

He stays silent in response, probably waiting for her to finish her sentence. This is the longest Betty has spoken to Jughead in quite some time, she realises with unease. The conversation has taken an unwanted turn, one she should have seen coming from a mile away.

 

“I really need to go to the library. Homework.” She stands to leave, attempting to skirt past Jughead without making any contact. She inhales deeply, sucking in.

 

But of course Jughead has to be Jughead. He reaches his arm out, grabbing her by the wrist. Betty gasps aloud, the familiar churn in her chest.

 

_ I must’ve done something really bad. _

 

He stares at her with her sad eyes, “Betty.”

 

All she wants to do is tell him it isn’t his fault, that he never did anything at all, but that would only lead to more questions. In a selfish act, she snatches her wrist back and whispers, “Please don’t touch me.”

 

She stands still for a moment, the eye contact between them feeling all too intense, before she averts her gaze and rushes out of the room in a flash. She practically lets the door slam behind her.

 

His face, his eyes. Betty suddenly hates the fact Jughead wears his heart on his sleeve. It makes her feel even worse.

 

The hallway is completely empty, so she takes a second to regain her composure before leaving out the front doors of the school. There’s absolutely no fucking way she’s staying there for one more moment.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow and it only took me 3 months to update sjdjsh i just started my last year of high school deadass yesterday so idk why i suddenly felt like writing this now as opposed to during the 7 week break i just had but we out here,, hopefully next update will be soon and also hope yall are enjoying it !!


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